I was looking under the hood this afternoon, noticed a bare wire leading to the ignition coil. Further inspection revealed brittle insulation on the wires leading into the grey block on the firewall.

So, this raises a few questions -

Is the wire usually brittle only on the ends, where it’s exposed? Has anyone seen the wires fail in the looms?

Also, who here has a story to share about replacing the engine wire harness? How long did it take, how many swear words did you utter? This guy makes it sound easy - http://www.volvo2.homestead.com/240harness.html

And the extra credit question - what years is the engine wiring harness problematic?

Any input greatly appreciated!